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Lady Mules move past East Carter, into LRCC semifinals
BROSELEY — The quarterfinal round of the Lady Royals Christmas Classic featured a wild one between Poplar Bluff and East Carter on Monday afternoon and the Lady Mules came out on top 51-48 in a close back-and-forth game.
“I’m proud of the team,” Poplar Bluff coach Soley Dugas said. “I’m just proud of the girls believing and trusting in me and executing.”
With the win, Poplar Bluff improves to 7-3 on the season and matches last season's win total.
The Lady Mules had some foul trouble late in the first half, including Jadyn Brandon fouling out before halftime, but Poplar Bluff was able to keep its composure in the second half and stay on the floor.
“We just tried to stay disciplined in the second half,” Dugas said. “I told them at halftime that it’s going to take all of us and we need take care of each others’ backs and I think they did a great job of pulling together.”
Ireland Gowen led the offense with 14 points — 12 of them coming in the second half — and Allie Johnson was right behind her with 13.
For East Carter Parker Golden led the Lady Redbirds with a 22-point game while Anna Crowley was also in double figures with 14.
The first quarter set the tone for the entire game as each team traded blows and East Carter held a slim 11-10 lead after eight minutes. The Lady Redbirds spread it out a little bit in the second going up 20-14 halfway through the period, but Poplar Bluff was able to keep pace being down 25-21 at halftime.
Both teams came out of the locker room with 10 points each as the score was 35-31 in favor of East Carter as the Lady Redbirds took a 30-second timeout with 3:51 remaining in the third. From there the Lady Mules went on a 9-0 run, with Bella Halliburton breaking the tie, as Poplar Bluff went into the fourth quarter up 40-35.
East Carter wasn’t done yet as the Lady Redbirds went on a 7-2 run to tie it up at 42 with 5:14 on the clock. Both teams traded blows and it was apparent the game would get settled on the free-throw line, which the Lady Mules were able to put away the game from the charity stripe while their full court press prevented the Lady Redbirds to run a clean play.
Poplar Bluff will advance to the semifinals as the Lady Mules will face another tough test from the Ozark Foothills Conference in Doniphan. The Donettes blew out Kennett 72-25 right before Poplar Bluff and East Carter took the floor.
“We’re going to have to continue on this momentum and play hard against Doniphan,” said Dugas.
The Lady Mules and Donettes will play in the first semifinal game on Friday at 6 p.m.